Mixing device.



I. B. WHITE.

MIXING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 14, 1911.

1 ,O4;O,826. Patented Oct. 8, 1912.

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I. B. WHITE.

MIXING DEVICE,

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 14, 1911.

1,040,826, Patented Oct. 8, 1912.

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Q a 2 7' Ax Z1] INVENTOP. By Q WM COLUMBIA PLANOORAPH coflwAsmNn'ro D cI. B. WHITE.

MIXING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT.14,1911.

Patented Oct. 8, 1912.

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IRA 13. WHITE, OF PEORIA, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO ALBERT D.CAMPBELL, 0F PEORIA, ILLINOIS.

MIXING DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 8, 1912.

Application filed September 14, 1911. Serial No. 649,280.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, IRA B. WVnrrn, a citizenof the United States, residing at Peoria, in the county of Peoria andState of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inMixing Devices, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in mixing devices and,particularly, to a device of that character adapted for mixing finelydivided or granular substances in suitable proportions to form a certainmixture or composition.

An object of the invention is the provision, in a device of thecharacter described, of means whereby the relative proportions of eachsubstance or ingredient entering into the mixture may be varied asdesired, and further than that to provide a plurality of means forproducing or controlling said variation.

A further object of this invention is the provision and utilization in adevice of this character of a bucket or conveying device of peculiarconstruction, that is, having an adjustable bottom so that the capacitythereof may be varied as desired by the operator.

A further object is the provision of a de vice or machine of thecharacter described wherein a series of wheels are mounted on a shaft,each wheel being positioned in a separate compartment and eachcompartment having a separate connection with a suitable bin, whereinthe substances or ingredients to be mixed together are fed, said wheelshaving mounted thereon buckets or conveying devices, the number of whichon each wheel may be varied as desired, and which buckets are providedwith means for varying their capacity, which comprises a movable oradjustable bottom, said device further having a conveyer below saidwheels to which the wheels discharge the material and having furthermixing means and conveying means.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and such other objects as mayhereinafter appear my invention consists in the construction,combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and thensought to be defined with particularity in the claims, reference beinghad to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof and whichillustrate, for the purposes of this disclosure, the preferredembodiment of In the drawings, in which like characters of referencedesignate corresponding parts in the several views, Figure 1 is thefront elevation of the device, portions including three of the wheels,being shown broken away on different lines to illustrate the interiorarrangement, construction and detail. Fig. 2 is a vertical cross sectionthrough the device. Fig. 3 is a detail. Fig. 4: is a perspective view ofone form of bucket. Fig. 5 is a cross section through another form ofthe bucket. Fig. (3 is a perspective view of the member which forms theadjustable bottom for the bucketshown in Fig. 5.

My invention comprises a plurality of wheels or rotary supports, all ofwhich are mounted on a shaft so as to turn together and inclosed in asuitable casing, having partitions between each wheel so as to form aseparate compartment therefor, having a spout leading from a binconnected to each separate compartment and each compartment furtherhaving a separate discharge opening or spout, the entrance to which iscontrolled by a deflecting plate, said spout discharging on a suitableconveyor which carries the material to a shaker through which it iscarried to a further conveyor, if necessary. Each discharge spout isprovided with a deflecting valve, to provide a means for testing out anyone wheel and each inlet spout is provided with a cutoff or valve whichmay be adjusted as desired. Each compartment is provided with a valveddischarge opening in the bottom thereof. On the wheels are mounted aplurality of buckets or conveying devices, the number of which on eachwheelv may be varied as desired or as required by working conditions.These buckets each have a bottom which may be moved up and down to varythe internal capacity thereof and thus determine the amount of theparticular material or substance, in which one wheel is working, toenter into the mixture.

The casing 1 is mounted on a suitable support 2, such as the floor, saidcasing having a three-sided top portion 2 com 'irising a back 3,horizontal top 4 and hinged front 5,

which is provided with openings 6 covered wit-h transparent closures.The bottom of the casing is formed of a curved member 7 extending inproximity to the rear portion of the top at one end and to the front,portion 5 of the top at the other end. Partitions 8 are located in saidcasing at suitable distances apart and from the ends 9 form ing entirelyseparate compartments or chambers. Spouts 10 lead from suitable bins,not shown, to the spaces between the bottom portion 7 and the back 3 ofthe top portion of the casing, one spout being provided for eachcompartment. A valve or cut-ofi', shownin Fig. 3, is provided inproximity to the end of the spout to control the passage of the materialinto each compartment. A slot 12 is formed in each cut-off and a bolt 13or other securing means is provided for adjustably holding the cut-01fin position, each cut-off sliding on guides 14; which comprise stripssecured to the sides of the partitions and ends of the casing. In thelower part of the bottom 7 is provided the opening 7 controlled by aslide valve as shown.

To the forward or front part of the casing is connected the dischargechute or spout 15, the front wall of which is longer than the rear wall,the deficiency in length being overcome by the utilization of a portionof the curved bottom 7 as the rear wall of the discharge chute or spout.The front wall of each chute or spout is provided with a hingeddeflecting plate or valve 16 which is provided with the upper bevelededge 17 which in its inner position is designed to rest against thebottom wall of the casing. Connected to the front end of the bottom wallof the casing, are the hinged deflecting members or plates 18, one foreach compartment, and having lugs 19 to which are pivotally attached thebolts 20, which provide means for adjusting said deflecting members orplates. At the bottom of the discharge chutes or spouts is positionedthe conveyer 21, preferably a screw eonveyer, as illus trated, whichextends longitudinally the entire length of the machine and dischargesthrough chute 22 on to a shaker 23 through which it passes to anotherconveyer 24: which feeds the material to a bagger indicated at 25.

Brackets or supports 26 are mounted on the base or support 2 andjournaled in said brackets or supports is the shaft 27 which passeslongitudinally through the casing and partitions and has on one endthereof pulley 28 driven by bolt 29 and also sprocket wheel 30, havingthe sprocket chain 31 running thereabout, which sprocket chain 31 drivessprockets 32 and 33 on the ends of the shafts on which the conveyers 21and 24 are mounted. On this shaft are mounted the rotary supports orwheels 34, one for each compartment in the casing. These wheels havesecured thereto, on their periphery, carrying devices or buckets 35 andthus provide means for lifting, conveying and discharging the materialin suitable quantities. The buckets are shown in detail in Figs. lto 6.In Fig. l is shown the preferred form and this comprises the curved baseplate or back 36 which is provided with openings 37 through which thesecuring means 38 is passed. On this back is formed the rectangularbucket 38 as shown having its front wall 39 provided with a verticalslot 40. The top portion of this bucket is left open while the bottom isformed by the member 41 which has the curved upper surface as shown, thevertically extending front portion 42 and the upwardly inclined bottomand bracing portion 43 which bears against and supports the curved upperportion of the bottom. The front portion 4L2 is provided with thevertical slot 44, through which and the slot 40 in the front wall of thebucket is passed the adjusting bolt 45. A. plate 46 is placed over theslot 40 and held there by the bolt 45. This bolt forms the adjustingmeans for holding the bottom in any desired position, it beingunderstood that the rear edge of the top portion of the bottomfrictionally engages the bottom or base 36 of the bucket proper, thecurved construction of the bottom causing it to have a certain amount ofelasticity to properly produce this frictional engagement and maintainit. A slight modification of this ad justing means for the bottom of thebucket is disclosed in Figs. 5 and 6. In Fig. 5 are shown a series ofsmall shelves or ratchet teeth l? which are positioned in each of thecorners of the bucket at the base or back plate 36. The rear end of thetop 41 of the bottom of the bucket is cut away, as indi cated at 49 inFig. 6, and the lip 50' bent down along the transverse edge 51 of thecut to provide a supporting projection or lug, which is designed toengage and rest on any one of the shelves o-r teeth 47 and held thereonby means of the bolt or other adjusting means 45 as hereinbeforedescribed.

As I have stated before, in the bins, which are not shown, but which areconnected to the supply spouts or chutes 10, are stored the varioussubstances or ingredients which are to enter into the composition andare fed into the compartments through said spouts, this food beingcontrolled by means of the cut-offs 11, which may be adjusted asdesired. In these compartments are mounted the wheels or rotary supportswhich have secured, on their periphery, a plurality of buckets orconveying devices. The number of the buckets on the various wheels maybe arranged as desired to introduce a suitable proportion of any onesubstance into the mixture. While the number of these buckets may bevaried to control the amount of any one of the substances entering intothe mixture, the capacity of each bucket may be varied so as to providea further means for regulating the amount of any one material thatenters into the composition or mixture. The capacity of these bucketsmay be varied as set forth herein by raising or lowering the movablebottom thereof. It is understood that all of the rotary supports orwheels are mounted on the same shaft and, consequently, rotate at thesame speed, so that the only means of varying the relative proportionsof the ingredients or material which enter into the composition ormixture is by changing the number of buckets on each wheel or by varyingthe capacity of each bucket on the wheels until the correct proportionsare attained. The opening 7 and its slide valve which are provided inthe bottom 7 of the casing provide a means for emptying the casing ofany surplus material. The deflecting plate 18 provides another means forcontrolling the relative amount of discharge of material from any onecompartment while the deflecting plate or valve 16 provides a meanswhereby the material discharged from one compartment may be passed outof the machine separately for the purpose of making a test or otherwise.The conveyor 21 provides a mixing means as does the shaker 23 andconveyer 2%.

It is thus seen that I have provided a machine which is eflicient inoperation, and wherein the suitable adjustments may be made to regulatethe discharge and proportions of the different ingredients or substancesentering into the composition or mixture with facility.

\Vhile my machine is particularly designed for mixing poultry feed it isobvious that the construction herein disclosed, may be utilized formixing any substances of a divided character into a suitable mixture orcomposition, and it is to be understood that the purpose of my inventionis such.

\Vhat I claim is:

1. In a mixing device, a casing having a plurality of compartmentsformed therein, each compartment adapted to have operative connectionwith a bin, a plurality of rotatable supporting members mounted in thecompartments of said casing, means for rotating said supporting members,discharge chutes or spouts connected to said compartments, conveyingdevices on said rotary supports adapted to discharge into said chutes orspouts, means for varying the capacities of said conveying devices, andmeans for varying the sizes of the openings into the discharge chutes orspouts.

2. In a mixing device, a casing having a plurality of compartmentsformed therein, each compartment adapted to have operative connectionwith a bin, a plurality of rotatable supporting members mounted in thecompartments of said casing, means for rotating said supporting members,discharge chutes or spouts connected to said compartments, conveyingdevices on said rotary supports adapted to discl'iarge into said chutesor spouts, means for varying the capacities of said conveying devices,and deflecting means mounted in each of said discharge chutes or spoutsso that material may be discharged from any one of the chutes to theoutside of the machine for the purposes set forth.

3. In a mixing device, a casing, a plurality of partitions disposedtherein in spaced relation to form comparlments, a shaft extendingthrough said casing, a plurality of rotatable supporting members mountedon said shaft and positioned in said compartments, supply inlets foreach of said compartments, discharge outlets for each of saidcompartmcnts, conveying buckets on each of said rotatable supportingmembers, means for varying the capacities of said conveying buckets,means for varying the size of the supply inlets and means for varyingthe size of the discharge outlets.

l. In a mixing device, a casing having a plurality of compartmentsformed therein, wheels mounted in said compartments, means for rotatingsaid wheels, each of said, compartments having discharge openings, meansfor varying and controlling said discharge openings, said wheels eachhaving a plurality of buckets mounted thereon, and each of said bucketsbeing adjustable to control the capacity thereof.

5. In a mixing device, a casing, a plurality of partitions disposedtherein in spaced relation to form compartments, inlets to each of saidcompartments adapted to be connected to storage bins, separate outletsfrom each compartn'ient, conveying means disposed below said outlets, ashaft extending through said casing, a plurality of wheels mounted onsaid shaft in said compartments, and conveying buckets on said wheels,each of said buckets being adjustable to vary the capacity thereof.

(3. In a mixing devlce, a casing, a plurality of partitions disposedtherein in spaced relation to form compartment-s, each compartmenthaving an inlet adapted to be connected to a storage bin and having aseparate discharge outlet or chute, a shaft extending through saidcasing, a plurality of wheels mounted on said shaft in saidcompartments, and adjustable conveying devices on said wheels, means forcontrolling and varying the discharge openings to said discharge outletsor chutes, a screw conveyer disposed below said discharge outlets orchutes to act as a conveying and mixing means.

7. In a mixing device, a casing having a plurality of compartmentsformed therein, each compartment adapted to have operative connectionwith a bin, a plurality of retatable supporting members mounted in thecompartments of said casing, means for rotating said supporting members,discharge chutes or spouts connected to said compartments, conveyingdevices on said rotary sup ports adapted to discharge into said chutesor spouts, and means for varying the capacities of said conveyingdevices without changing the external shape of said conveying devices.

8. In a mixing device, a casing, a plurality of partitions disposedtherein in spaced relation to form compartments, each compartment havingan inlet adapted to be connected to a storage bin and having a separatedischarge outlet or chute, a shaft extending through said casing, aplurality of wheels mounted on said shaft in said compartments, andadjustable conveying devices on said wheels, and a screw conveyerhorizontally disposed below said discharge outlets or chutes to act as aconveying and mixing means.

9. In a mixing device, a casing including a top portion and a roundedbottom portion, partitions disposed in said casing in spaced relation toform compartments, each compartment having an inlet adapted to beconnected to a storage bin from whence the material is discharged on tothe curved bottom of said casing, each compartment having a separatedischarge outlet or chute in the front portion thereof, a shaftextending through said casing and said partitions, a wheel mountedentirely Within each compartment and secured to said shaft andadjustable conveying devices on said wheels adapted to pick up thematerial from the curved bottom of said casing and discharge it throughsaid discharge outlets or chutes, and means for delivering the materialfrom said discharge outlets or chutes.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

IRA B. WHITE.

Witnesses:

GEORGE T. BEAN, WV. H. WINGET.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

